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Atoms, Elements, and Minerals
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Minerals
• A mineral is an inorganic, crystalline
solid, formed by natural geological
processes, with a specific chemical
composition.
• Form in the geosphere (most minerals),
hydrosphere (e.g., halite), biosphere
(e.g., calcite), and even the atmosphere
(e.g., water ice, as snow)
• Consistent and recognizable physical
and chemical properties
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Atoms and Elements
• An element is a substance that can not be broken
down into others by ordinary chemical reactions
• An atom is the smallest unit of a substance that
retains the properties of that element
– Composed of 3 types of subatomic
particles
• Protons (positively charged)
• Neutrons (zero net charge)
• Electrons (negatively charged)
• A molecule is the smallest unit of a compound
that retains the properties of that substance
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Atomic Structure
• Protons and neutrons form the nucleus
of an atom
– Represents tiny fraction of the volume at the
center of an atom, but nearly all of the mass
• Electrons orbit the nucleus in discrete
shells or energy levels
– Shells represent nearly all of the volume of
an atom, but only a tiny fraction of the mass
– Numbers of electrons and protons are equal
in a neutral atom
– Ordinary chemical reactions involve only
outermost shell (valence) electrons
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Isotopes
• Atoms of an element with different
numbers of neutrons are called isotopes
• Isotopes may be either stable or unstable
– Stable isotopes retain all of their protons
and neutrons over time
– Unstable or radioactive isotopes
spontaneously lose subatomic particles
from their nuclei
• Stable isotopes can be used to track
climate change over time
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Chemical Bonding
• Chemical bonding is controlled by
outermost shell (valence) electrons
• Elements will typically be reactive
unless their valence shell is full
(contains 8 electrons)
• Atoms or groups of atoms with
unequal numbers of protons and
electrons, which have a non-zero
charge, are called ions
• Positive and negative ions are
attracted to one another and may
stick or bond together
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Chemical Bonding
• Ionic bonding
– Involves transfer of valence
electrons from one atom to
another
• Covalent bonding
– Involves sharing of valence
electrons among adjacent atoms
• Metallic bonding
– Electrons flow freely throughout
metals; results in high electrical
conductivity
Ionic bonding of NaCl (sodium chloride)
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Composition of Earth’s Crust
• Common elements
– Nearly 97% of the atoms in Earth’s
crust are represented by the 8 most
common elements
• O, Si, Al, Fe, Ca, Na, K, Mg
• Common mineral types
– Most minerals are silicates (contain Si
and O bonded together)
• Minerals have crystalline structures
– Regular 3-D arrangement of atoms
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Structure of minerals
• Polymorphs
• Two or more minerals with the same chemical
composition but different crystalline structures
• Diamond and graphite are good examples of
polymorphs
» The transformation of one polymorph to another
is called a phase change
Silicate Structures
• The Silicon-Oxygen tetrahedron
– Strongly bonded silicate ion
– Basic structure for silicate minerals
• Sharing of O atoms in tetrahedra
– The more shared O atoms per
tetrahedron, the more complex the
silicate structure
• Isolated tetrahedra (none shared)
• Chain silicates (2 shared)
• Double-chain silicates (alternating
2 and 3 shared)
• Sheet silicates (3 shared)
• Framework silicates (4 shared)
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Non-silicate Minerals
• Carbonates
– Contain CO3 in their structures (e.g., calcite - CaCO3)
• Sulfates
– Contain SO4 in their structures (e.g., gypsum - CaSO4. 2H2O)
• Sulfides
– Contain S (but no O) in their structures (e.g., pyrite - FeS2)
• Oxides
– Contain O, but not bonded to Si, C or S (e.g., hematite - Fe2O3)
• Native elements
– Composed entirely of one element (e.g., diamond - C; gold - Au)
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Minerals
• A mineral must meet the following criteria:
– Crystalline solid
• Atoms are arranged in a consistent and orderly geometric pattern
– Forms through natural geological processes
– Has a specific chemical composition
• Rock-forming minerals
– Although over 4000 minerals have been identified, only a few
hundred are common enough to be generally important to
geology (rock-forming minerals)
– Over 90% of Earth’s crust is composed of minerals from only 5
groups (feldspars, pyroxenes, amphiboles, micas, quartz)
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Minerals
• Ore minerals
– Minerals of commercial value
– Most are non-silicates (primary source of metals)
• Examples: magnetite and hematite (iron), chalcopyrite (copper),
galena (lead), sphalerite (zinc)
– Must be able to be extracted profitably to be considered
current resources
• Gemstones
– Prized for their beauty
and (often) hardness
– May be commercially useful
• Black diamond, corundum and
quartz are used as abrasives
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Mineral Properties
• Color
– Visible hue of a mineral
• Streak
– Color left behind when mineral
is scraped on unglazed porcelain
• Luster
– Manner in which light reflects
off surface of a mineral
• Hardness
– Scratch-resistance
• Crystal form
– External geometric form
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Mineral Properties
• Cleavage
– Breakage along flat planes
• Fracture
– Irregular breakage
• Specific gravity
– Density relative to that of water
• Magnetism
– Attracted to magnet
• Chemical reaction
– Calcite fizzes in dilute HCl
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